The Nose: Welcome To The 'Land Of Steady Habits'
Simpsons writer Mike Reiss on his new play about Connecticut
Is Connecticut funny? Is Connecticut anything?
In 1992, film-maker Ken Simon made a documentary attempting to probe the identity of the state. He interviewed a range of "experts," including me. The title of this documentary? "Between Boston and New York."
That tells you something. Even a painstaking attempt to pin down what Connecticut is winds up bowing to all the things Connecticut ain't. There's a somewhat rude anatomical term for this. I'm not going to use it.
Maybe what's funny about Connecticut is that very lack of specifics. A Connecticut person tends not to be seized by a specific geographical ethos. He's adrift.
Mike Reiss grew up in Bristol, but, inexplicably, he chose to leave. He wound up working in TV comedy, most notably with "The Simpsons." He's back in the state as a playwright. He joins us on The Nose, today.
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MESSAGE FROM STEVE:
I was listening to the beginning of today's show and would like to make a clarification. Though GILMORE GIRLS is based on several towns, it was specifically a combination of the Collinsville section of Canton and Essex that were generally believed to be the background models for STARS HOLLOW. In 2000, Warner Bros sent photographers to Collinsville to take pictures for the set pieces (according to the Hartford Courant) I wrote several article for the Farmington Valley newspapers over the years about the subject. I also got to work on JUDGING AMY back in 2000 while working for the CT FILM OFFICE
EMAIL FROM WAYNE:
Here's my take: Old Yankee peddlers out of New Britain traveled throughout New England each summer selling, among other things, fake nutmegs they had carved from wood the previous winter. They figured they'd be long gone before the housewife caught on. At some point, the ruse was exposed and they had to find a new scam. Scouring their devious brains for the next big thing, one shouted out: "I know, we'll sell INSURANCE!" and Connecticut went on to become the insurance capital of the world.
EMAIL FROM LOIS:
I called in to the show on Friday, but time ran out and your screener suggested I e-mail. I wanted to contribute to the conversation specifically about there being no songs about Connecticut. I attended Connecticut Day at the BIG E this year. At noon, there was a music performance by the Wintergreen Magnet School from North Haven. They were 5th graders who put on a delightful performance. Their focus? Connecticut. All of the songs they sang were original pieces that were fabulous. I don't know if they were written by the music director or another composer, but they were well written, allowing the students to do some very entertaining mini skits that accompanied the songs. I walked away at the end of the program having had a history lesson about Connecticut and smiling at the creative way they sang about Bridgeport and New Haven as well as Thomas Hooker and Hartford. Just passing it on.
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